Senator Murray Applauds Biden Administration’s Plan to Fix the “Family Glitch” and Lower Families’ Health Care Costs

200,000 uninsured people estimated to get covered under the proposal, and 1 million would see the cost of coverage drop

Senator Murray: “President Biden’s proposal is a common sense step to lower health care costs and a big win for families.”

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, issued the following statement on the Biden Administration’s new proposed rule to strengthen the Affordable Care Act by fixing the “family glitch.”

“President Biden’s proposal is a common sense step to lower health care costs and a big win for families. Closing the ‘family glitch’ will save people in Washington state and across the country hundreds of dollars on their health care premiums every month. I’ve been pushing for years to make this change and help hundreds of thousands of people get affordable and high-quality health care, and thanks to President Biden, we are now one step closer to finally getting this done. I hope to see a final rule that puts more money back in people’s pockets implemented soon, and I’m going to keep doing everything I can to lower families’ health care costs with other steps as well.”

The “family glitch” prevents about 5 million people from using premium tax credits to purchase affordable, high-quality health care for themselves and their families through the exchanges because eligibility currently fails to take into account the eligible individual’s family. Fixing the “family glitch” will allow those affected to enroll in affordable health insurance for themselves and their families using the premium tax credit—which will lower many families’ health care costs by hundreds of dollars a month.

According to the White House, following the proposed change, an estimated 200,000 uninsured people would gain coverage, and nearly 1 million Americans would see their coverage become more affordable.

Senator Murray has consistently made the case that the “family glitch” should be fixed so that families aren’t denied access to the ACA’s premium tax credits.

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